Electric railway



(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 1..

I. W. HEYSINGER,

ELECTRIC RAILWAY,

No. 359,607. Patented Mar. 22, 1887.

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l (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

I. w. HBYMNGER ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Tries.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 359,607, dated March22. 1337- Application filed February 9, i886. Serial No. 191,205. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, Isaac W. Hnisruenn, of Philadelphia, iu the county ofPhiladelphia and State ot'Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Electric Railways, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the drawingsaccompanying and forming a part of this specification, in which- Figurel is a transverse vertical section of an electrical railway embodying myinvention as applied to a street-railway provided with a subterraneanconduit, showing the electric wires or conductors, the railway-car, theelec tric motor or dynamo attached thereto, and the means for conductingelectricity from the electric wires of the subway to the motor upon thecar. Fig. 2 is a view, similar to Fig. l, of

an elevated or other electric railway in which no subterranean conduitis employed. Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the means whereby Iautomatically shift the currentfrom one block or section of my electriccable or conductingwire to a succeeding block or section when it is notdeemed desirable to maintain all the blocks in a charged` condition atthe same time. Fig. 3a is an enlarged view ofthe electromagnet and itscoacting parts, as shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 4 is a plan view of a part ofthe station containing the dynamos which supply the line with electricenergy for propulsion of the cars, showing a number of such shifting`magnets as are shown in Fig. 3 arranged in series, so that the currentmay be' shifted from the cable controlled by one of these magnets to thenext as the car travels along the line, and so on continuously, andwhich, by the position of the armatures of the various magnets, willshow which blocks or sections upon the line are occupied by cars or'trains of cars and which are not, and which also provide means, bypreventing contact of the armature with its magnet, for arresting themotion of any car or train of cars at the end of any block or section ofcable uponwhich the said car or train may at any time be. Fig. 5 is avertical sectional view'of the electroconducting rollerswhich I preferto use, for communicating electricity from the fixed cable through theswinging arms shown in the figure to the electro-motor or dynamo uponthe car, which by suitable gearl ing propels the same. Fig. 5 is a viewofthe roller shown in Fig. 5 somewhat modilied in form.

The lettering in all the figures is uniform.

The rst part of my invention relates to the construction of an electricrailway provided with a fixed electric cable and a trackway along thesame, and having cars adapted to traverse tlie'said railway from end toend, propelled by the electric energy communicated from the saidelectric cable or conductor, in which the electric cable is divided intoaseries of blocks or sections arranged longitudinally along the line anddetached from each other where their adjacent ends approach eachother,these blocks or sections being of such length, proportionately tothe amount of travel upon the line, that not more than a single car ortrain of cars may be upon any one block at the same time, andin whichthe independent electric cable of each block or section is independentlysup plied with electric energy from a separate wire or conductor carriedalong out of contact with any other sectional cable or'conductor. Forordinary street-railways these blocks mightbe from a quarter to a halfmile in length, varying with the trafiic, while on a line fromPhiladelphia to New Yorkffor instance, the blocks more or less. Y.

The second part of my invention relates to the construction of theelectric connections used by me for transmitting the electric energy ofthe sectional cables to the motor-dynamo of the car and thence back tothe common source of supply, so that no loss of energy or breakin thecurrent may be encountered as the car travels across the break betweenthe two adjacent ends of the-blocks or sections of the fixed cables,which, independently supplied, lie end to end along the whole line. Forthis purpose I provide the car with a fixed bar descending from itsunder side, to which are attached two swinging arms on the side occupiedby the block-cables and one only on the sideoccupied by the return cableor conductor. To the ends or' these swinging arms are attached groove orother rollers, which roll along the cables and communicate the electricenergy through the rollers, the swinging arms, the descending bar, andthe dynamo carried might have a length of from five to ten miles,

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by the ear, all these being made of electroconducting material properlyinsulated. The swinging arms are held outwardly by springs or likemeans, and upon the side occupied by the sectional cable the twoswinging arms lie one behind the other, one pulley or roller followingthe other upon the same cable at such distance apart that when the endof one block is reached, before the rear roller shall have cleared thecable of the block behind, the roller in front willhave passed onto thecable of the next block. The electric conductors of these two arms arejoined -together as they ascend to the ca-r above, so as to make acommon conductor. I sometimes use brushes instead of rollers, butusually prefer the rollers herein shown and described.

The third part of my invention consists in the use of the longitudinalchamber or supplemental conduit I, extending along the trackway andcarrying within it the supply-wires K2 K3 K* K5, as shown in Figs. 1 and2, insulated from each other and drawn successively from the saidinsulated chamber to form connection with and supply electricity to themain conductor at various points into which the same may be sect-ionallydivided along the line. Then I use a conduit, G, as shown in Fig. l, Iusually carry this supplemental supply-conduit I within the conduit G,but I sometimes also carry the same along outside the conduit G, andwhere no such conduit G is used I carry the insulated box I and itscontained wires along the trackway, as shown in Fig. 2, or in any othermanner which will secure the advantages herein shown, described, andclaimed.

The fourth part of my invention relates to the construction of anautomatic current shifter or series of ciu-rent-shifters to be appliedto the line-wires of the various blocks of cable in the main station,whereby, when it is not desirable to maintain all the blocks in acontinuously-charged state, the passage of a car from a block which ischarged to a succeeding one which is not charged will shift the currentautomatically into that block, at the same time throwing the block justpassed out of connection with the charging-dynamo in the station, andwhereby also I am enabled at a glance, by a suitable index attached tothe armatures of the electromagnets used by me, or by mere observationof the armatures themselves, to determine the position of every car ortrain of cars upon the line at any moment within the limit of length ofa block of my cable or conductor, and also whereby I am enabled, bypreventing the closure of the armature of any electro-magnet in theseries, by a suitable bolt or lever, to prevent the trans mission of thecurrent to any block'desired, and so stop any or all trains from themain station at will.

The last part of myinvention relates to the construction of theconducting-rollers through which I transmit electric energy from thecable to the car, whereby the cable is held in contact with the rollerover a much larger surface than that of merely rolling contact.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. lis a transverse view, in section, of astreet-railway in which my invention is used.

A is the ear traveling upon the rails F F, which are supported by thestringers Il E in the street D.

B is an electromotor-dynamo attached lto the car, and may be of any formor construction required.

C is a draft-bar extending down into the conduit G, through thelongitudinal slot G', and the bar C is provided with conducting-wires cc,which extend outward along the arms and rollers to make connectionwith the fixed cables K and M and transmit the electricity to and fromthe motor B.

To the sides of the draft bar C,within the conduit G, are attached lugsC' l2, on opposite sides, to which are pivoted, so as to 'move in ahorizontal plane, the swinging arms H and H', upon the side occupied bythe sectional cable K, and H2 upon the side occupied bythe return cableM. These swinging arms are held outwardly by the springs S S S, whichmay be of any desired form.

Upon the extremities of the arms II H H2 are mounted rollers, preferablygrooved upon the periphery, P P l, which revolve in a horizontal planeand rest against the sectional cable K K upon one side and the returncable M upon the other.

rIhe rollers, arms, and bar are all provided with insulated electricconductors, and the rollers are composed of some conducting material,such as copper. As shown in Fig. 5, I prefer to make these rollers ofloosely-attached sheets or disks of copper, with or without a wooden ormetal disk between, and the sheets or disks are held together with alight spring, so that the top and bottom sides of the electrie cables Kand M shall be embraced by the inner surfaces of the copper disks wherethey extend out beyond the interposed wooden plate, where such is used,or where the disks are flanged at the edges for the purpose. The springholding the disks together will produce a slight pressure andacontinuous contact over a large surface, and at the same time will, bythe rotation of the disks, sweep away dirt and polish thecontact-surfaces of the conductors. rlhe position of the arrows in thegures serves to show the direction of the electric currents.

At I, Fig. l, is shown a box, or rather a continuous insulated casing orchamber, placed in the conduit G at one side thereof, and which extendsalong the whole lengt-h of the conduit. In this box I are contained anumber of electric conducting-wires, K K" KL K3 K8 K'J K1", Ste., whichextend longitudinally side by side and are all insulated from each otherby a suitable packing. To avoid induction I use any of the means ingeneral use; but usually a large rcturn'conductor, M, will besufficient. lVhen I use my current-shifting devices, as the current willbe -asa'eov i 3 but u pon a few of these wires K2 K10 K6,'&c'., y

` the, induction will be inconsiderable in any case, so far as practicalannoyance is concerned, while in Fig. 1 I show these wires K6 Kt, Ste.,in a box or casing within the conduit G; yet I do not always so inclosethem, but sometimes carry them along the street in a separate conduitoroverhead, or carry them into the conduitG from independent stationsalong the line, insteadof from a common station, as shown in Fig. 4.

In Fig. 2 I show an elevated railway in crosssection, in which the wiresKzKs, &c., are con.- tained in a horizontal box between the rails,

the cables K M extending along above the same, no subterranean conduitbeing employed, and I protect t-he cables 4K and M in this constructionby springing the hoods l I over them from the sides of the box I, havingan open inner side, through which the bar C and the arms H H H2, withtheir rollers, communicate with the said cables.

While other forms of conduit may be employed, the one-I prefer to use isthat secured to me by Letters Patent No. 325,173, dated August 25, 1885,in which I point out in general terms the adaptability of Vthe saidconduit to an electric railway, such as I now show, describe, and claimin this application.

The wires K4 Ki K9, 85e., are connected with the` motordynarnos in themain station, as shown in Fig. 4, or with various sub-stations along theline, which supply electricity for moving the cars; but in Fig. 4 I showa single dynamo of great power, which thus will supply all the wires KK2 K3 K6 K9 K, 8m., and consequently all the blocks of cable along theline, either all at once or successively.

Referring to Fig. 4, itwill be seen thatthe blocks K K'are supplied bythe wires K2 K3, which all extend along the line together in the box I,Figs. l and 2, the cable or main Aconductor lying farther within thisline and in contact with the rollers, P P. At a certain point the maincable willterminate, this being the end of one of the blocks or sectionsabove described. The next wire in the rear, K2,will now come to thefront a short distance in advance ofthe end of the rst block, and willbe bent into line with the former cable, or will form connections with anew length of cable, as may be preferred. This new block will extend adefinite distance and then, in like manner, terminate, and a newconductor take its place as a cable, and so on for the whole length ofthe trackway, all these blocks or sections of cable being totallydisconnected from each other. At the interval between the ends of anytwo blocks of cable a car supplied by a single roller, P, might be outof connection, and the current would be necessarily broken in asingleroller passing over this vacant space. To avoid this I use the doubleset of rollers l? P', one traveling behind the other at such distanceapart (see Fig. 2) that-before the rear roller, P, has left the lastblock the front roller, P', will have passed over the vacant space andvcommenced receiving the current from the succeeding block. As theconductingwires of the rollersl? and P unite before passing into themotor B, it is immaterial whether the current is carried by oneor theother arm H or I-l. The wires K K2 K3 K4 K5,- 85e., thus pass to thefront successively, (see Fig.'4,) each supplying a new block or sectionof cable with electric energy. A single return-cable, M, is used,extending along the whole line. which receives the return electricityfrom all the blocks, and should be of sufficient crosssection andconducting-power to freely return all the currents to thegenerating-station.

A ground-connection may be used for the return current; but I prefer adirect returncable for many reasons.

While a large added expense of construction might be imagined for ablock system like mine, from the multiple-supply wires K K'l K10 K,extending along the line, yet this is only apparent, as since but onecar or train ot' ears runs upon one block at any one time, (though incase ofemergency two or more might be run,) the current required foreach block and the corresponding weight ofside wire and cable would besmaller in the same proportion, the only increase being the allowancefor accidental variation and theA resistance of the wires K2 K, Ste.

In Fig. 3 I show in more detail the means I use to shift the currentfrom one block ot' cable to another when it is not desired to 'chargeall the blocks simultaneousl y. For in'- stance, in street-car lines atmorning or evening or onspecial occasions the cars will run much closertogether and the whole line may be maintained in a charged state, whileat other hours of the day the cars may run much less frequently, andthen onlyasingle dynamo, or one of smaller power, maybe used, andthecurrent shifted automatically from one block of cable to another as thecar travels along the line and passes from one block to another whenmoving either forward or backward.

'Ihe dynamo which generates the electric energy is shown at N, thedrivingpulley at O, and the return cable or conductor at M.

K is the wire which supplies the iirst block ot' cable K, and in Fig. 3is shown as constantly charged with electricity to avoid complication inthe drawings, the shifting mechanism being shown in this figure asapplied to K2 only. When the car reaches the position on the line shownin Fig. 3, the current is on the first block K, but not on thesucceeding block supplied by the wire K. The moment the front roller,P', passes over the end of the first block K and beyond it comes incontact with and begins to travel upon the cable ot' the succeedingblock supplied by K, the rearmost roller, P, still traveling upon thecable of the rst block. Immediately opposite, on the returncable M, is adetlection, m, intended to throw -the roller P out of contact at thesame instant that the rollers P P are in the position This deilection mmay be any sort of shown.

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insulated space, as I merely show a deflection to illustrate it moreclearly in the iigure.

R is an electromagnet in the supply-station near the dynamo N, and thewire K2, which 4controls the second block of the cable K, is

broken at the points a" y, (see Fig. 32) the one portion ofthe wire K2being attached to the armature of the electromagnet R, so that when thearmature is drawn up to the magnet contact will be made between the endsof the wire x and y, but not otherwise. \Vhen :c and y are in contact,the current from the dynamo N will pass along the wire KL into thesecond block ol' cable K.

Mz is a branch wire extending from the wire K2 beyond the break a: y tothe coils ofthe electro-magnet, and this branch wire, after forming thecoils ofthe magnet, is extended down at M to form a connection withthe,re turn-cable M at the point m2.

A powerful retracting=spring, R3, holds the armature R2 from contactwith the magnet R, and a bolt, R", is provided,by means of which thearmature RL may be permanently kept out of cont-act with the magnet R,so that no current can pass over the wire K2 to the block ot' cablesupplied thereby. TWhen the rollers P Il PL are in the positions shownin Fig.3 contact of the arm H" will be broken with the return-cable M,so that no current can pass. A new circuit will be formed in which thecurrent will pass from K through the arm H and backward down the arm Hinto the block of cable controlled by the wire K2, thence back along thewire l2 throughthe branch MZ and the electro-magnet, and thence down thewire M to the return-cable M. The electro-magnet R, setv into action bythe return current, will draw up the armature R2, thus forming contactwith the end y through the end x of the wire K2. The brauch wire M',after leaving the electromagnet R, is also broken, so that motion of thearmature R2, which places x and y in contact, breaks contact between nrand nr. At the same time m. a point upon the wire K2, forms contact withthe point m" ofthe branch M', and the currentinstantly reverses,passingfrom the dynamo Nout the wire K'Z to the block of cable and a portion ofthe current through the electro-magnet R, to hold the armature R'l inplace. The car advancing, the arm H2 is again connected with thereturncable M, and the current passes up either H or H',or b0th,to themotor B and down through the return-cable M. This operation is repeatedat the end oferery block ofcableand with each succeeding car or train ofcars. Then the car has passed entirely off the block of cable andconnection is broken with the return-ca ble, the spring R willwithdrawthe armature from the magnet, and the corresponding block will remainuncharged untill another car passes.

Vhcre danger of accident is so common from exposed electric wires it isimportant to allord the fullest protection, and by using these featuresof my invention itis only along supplies a main conducting'rod, fromwhichi branches K K2 KF K4 K5, Src., extend to the corresponding wires,which may be either in or out of contact, as the cars are upon one blockof the line or another, Contact being made or broken by theelectro-magnets R R R, as above described, and which are shown in Fig.4. By means of a simpleindicator applied to these magnets, or bytheposition of the armatures themselves, the position of each car or trainupon the whole line may be known at a glance, so far as each block isconsidered, and the motion of each car or train may be arrested at willfrom the central station without interfering with the motion of anyother car on the line at the end of any block upon which such car ortrain may be running. For instance, if a telegram reach the main officethat a bridge is unsafe or a cut filled by a washwsay on block l4-theengineer at the station has merely to push in the locking-bolt R4 uponthe magnet marked I l, and the car or train will come to a stop assoonasit leaves block 13. As the advance of each succeeding train is knownat the station by the indicator, no train following the train thusarrested can collide with it if the bolt on K13 be also pushed in; 0r ifthe indicator shows that a train for New York does not leave its blockat any point on time, it will be known at once at the station thatsomething has gone wrong, and a turn of the bolt upon the magnetcontrolling the preceding block will etfeetually guard that train frominjury. As soon as the train passes off its block, the embargo is raisedbehind, and the trains follow each other at the intervals announced att-he station upon the indicator in the office. The blocks out ofconnection also serve for telegraphic purposes. To make connection withthe wire'K2 while the car or train is upon the block supplied by KQaswinging finger, C, upon the locomotive, in advance of the arms H H',is placed in contact with the cable of one block, while the car isstopped just at the end of the next block in rear. Through thisindependent connection, by means of the telegraphio apparatus C5 C7,Figs. 5 and 4, messages may be sent to and fro while they remainuncharged, and messages pass to and fro at all times.

Vhile I show a special construction in Figs. 3 and 4, yet l do not limitmyselt' to this spe citic means or the arrangement of armatures, bolts,springs, branch wires, 86e., as shown, my object in the drawings beingto clearly be readily understood and suppliedby those familiar with thearts to which my invention s pertains.

In Figs. and 5 I1 show a roller which I prefer .to use, as by myconstruction I do not merely securera rolling contact of the peripheryof a conducting-roller with a cable, but a i sliding contact as wellwith the upper and area instead of at a single point.

of two disks of metal, preferably copper,with

lower surfaces of the vcable overa considerable It consists either aninterposed plate of wood or other material or else having the oppositemetallic disks flanged at their edges, upward and downward, so as topresent a grooved periphery, in

which the cable may lie, and having its upper and under sides embracedand overlapped by the outer surfaces of the metallic disks. These disksT T are perforated in the middle, as is shown at t2 t2; and I prefer toflange the sides of these perforations outwardly to form hubs to insuresteady running, as is shown in the figure. Through the perforations i2t, I pass a vertical bolt, YV, .connected with the arm II, and upon thisbolt W, I place a light spring, V, to hold the disks T T together undera slight tension and insure perfect contact with the upper and lowersurfaces of the cable K. It will now be seen that as the roller travelsalong the cable the flanges t t will embrace the same, rotating withmore or less slip, but at all times having a broad surface of contact.and sweeping` aside any dirt or rust which may form upon either thecable or the disks. As the latter are merely struck up or spun from asheet of copper or other suitable metal the cost of replacement, whenworn out, is inconsiderable, while the lightness of tension against thesides of the cable K will not percept-ibly wear the same for a longtime.

The disk T2, Fig. 5, may be of wood or metal, and forms the body of theroller which travels along the cable under rolling contact only. Vhen T2is not used I iiange out the plates or disks-T T, as shown in the iirstpart of Fig. 5. I do not `always use this form of roller in the use ofmy invention as a whole, but prefer they rollers described, unless, forspecial reasons, other forms of roller, brushes, wires, &c., may bepreferred.

While in Figs. 3 and fi I show a single supply-dynamo, I do not in usingmy invention confine myself to a single generatingdynamo at thesupply-station ot' the whole line 'or at each sub-station along theline, but use either a 'single dynamo with a divided .current or anumber of gefnerating-dynamos at each station, each of which suppliessuch number of the supply-wires K K2 Kt K2, Ste., as may be desirable ornecessary, and I vary the relative sizes of these dynamos to suit thespecial requirements of the case, and I otherwise modify the practicaldetails of constructionin accordance with the advances ofelectrical"`science without departing from the principles of myinvention. I also apply those parts of my invention-as, for instance,the supplemental conduit I,.containing'the insulated supplywires, theappliances for telegraphing or telephoning back from the locomotive overthe uncharged wires of the system, the currentgathering rollersT andtheir attachments, and such parts of my invention as are not necessarilydependent on my current-shifting devices-to other systems olf-electricrailways for which they may be adapted without departing from myinvention, as herein shown, described, and claimed. l

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent,

1. In an electric railway, in combination with the trackway F andsectional cable K, the closed conduit I, extending along the saidtrackway and containing the insulated wires K K2 K3 K4 K5, said conduitI being perforated at various points along the line thereof, throughwhich perforations the said insulated wires K K2, &c., are electricallyconnected with the different blocks or sections K K K of the said cable,substantially as described.

2. In combination with the block-cable K K K, the different sections ofwhich are supplied by the independent wires K K2 K3, the connecting ordraft bar C, attached to the motorcar A, adapted to actuate the same andhaving the duplicate rollers P P', traveling one behind the other,electrically connected with the motor B oi' the car above, and soconstructed as to bridge over the insulated spaces between the adjacentends of the blocks into which the said cable K is divided, substantiallyas and for the purposes herein set forth.

3. In an electric railway, in combination with a cable, K, divided intolongitudinal blocks or sections independently supplied withelectro-motive energy from outside sources, and a return-cable, M, thecar A,having motor B and electric connecting-bar G, together with theduplicate arms H H, provided with rollers orbrushesPP,traveling behindeach other and in contact with the cable K, and the singie opposite armII, provided with roller or brush P2, traveling in contact with thereturncable M, substantially as described.

4. In combination with the bar or support C, attached to the car A,having motor B, the pivoted con neetin g-bars H H2, swinging to the rearfrom the said support C in a horizontal plane, having springs S S androllers or brushes tact with the electric cables K and M by the IOO IIO

outward pressure of the springs S S, substantially as described.

5. In an electric railway having a series of independent insulatedconducting-wires arranged longitndinally to form a block or sectionalcable, each section of said cable being independently supplied withelectro-motive energy from the dynamo N through the separate wires K K2K2, in combination with the said sectional cable K K K and one or moresupply-wires, K2, the electro-magnet R, supplied through the branch M2,and having the circuit-breaker m3 mt, the armature R2, the open orclosed contact ends x and y upon the wire K2, and wire K2 x, thrown inor out ofcontact by the movement to and fro of the armature R2, thewhole operating substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

6. In an electric railway having the supplyeable divided intolongitudinal independent blocks or sections supplied through theinsulated wires K K2 K2, the current-shifting devices constructed toshift the current from one block of cable to a succeeding one as the carA passes from one block to another, the said shifting devices consistingof the bridge-connection HH,to span the adjacent extremities of twoblocks or sections, the return-cable M,

having the opposite insulated space, m, the electro-magnet R, thearmature R2,brought up to the magnet by the passage of the currentthrough the wire K2 and brauch M2, and the circuit completed from thedynamo N to the car A through the said wire K2 by contact of the ends rcand c, produced by the closure of the armature o f the electro-magnet,subst-antially as described.

7. In combination with the trackway F, ear A, motor B, connecting-wiresK K2 K2, sectional cable K K K, electro-magnet R, and circuitclosingarmature R2, the bolt R, adapted to prevent motion of the armature Rzand thus prevent connection between the dynamo N and the car A throughthe wire K2 and arrest the motion of said car A at the entrance to suchblock or section of cable as may be supplied through the wire K2,substantially as described.

8. In an electric railway, the cars or trai us of cars A, moving eachalong a single insulated block or section of supply-cable, K, receivingits electro-motive energy through one of the series of supply-wires K K2K3 K2, &c., the said series of supply-wires deriving their electricenergy from an electric generator at the supply-station, and havinginterposed upon the said wires the said series of shifting-magnets R R RR, operating, substan tially as described, to cause the current ofelectricity to be shifted automatically as each car or train advancesfrom one block or section of cable to the next succeeding one, and so oncontinuously, substantially as herein shown and described.

9. In a block-cable electric railway having a series of supply-wires forthe different :insulated blocks or sections of which the cable iscomposed and a series of current-shifting devices, constructed andoperating substantially as herein described, the electric indicators R2R2 R2, or their equivalents, at the supply-station, adapted by theirmovement to show what blocks of the sectional cable K are occupied bycars or trains of cars and what are not so occupied, and to indicate themoment at which each car or train of ears cntersnpon or leaves any blockor section upon the said line, substantially as described.

10. In an electric railway having the block or sectional cable K,consisting of the insulated longitudinal sections K K K, each of whichblocks or sections is adapted to transport one car or train of cars, anda series of supply-wires, K K2 K3, each of which supplies one of saidinsulated sections, the combination of the car A andelectrically-charged block or section of cable supplying the same, withthe series of nncharged blocks or sections upon which no car is placed,the difierent blocks being successively supplied with electric energy asthe car advances, and devices at the supply-station to throw thesupply-wires out of circuit as the car leaves each block or section,substantially as described.

11. In an electric railway, in combination with one or morelsupply-wires, K', a sectional cable, K, and motor-carin contacttherewith, supplied with electricity from said wires, contact devices onsaid car to shift the current from one supply-wire to another as the caradvances, the intermittently-uncharged supply-wires K6 K2@ K, &c.,adapted to serve as telegraph or telephone wires from the car A to thestation while thus nncharged, and the instruments C2 and C2, placed onthe car or train in a position to be thrown into circuit with annncharged wire, substantially as described.

l2. In combination with the cable supported in the conduit, theconducting-roller l), carried by an arm connected with the car,consisting of the opposite disks, T T', perforated at the center andlooselyjournaled upon the shaft or pivot \V, and the spring V, adaptedto hohl the disks together and grasp the cable on the upper and lowersides between the inner sides of said disks T T, substantially asdescribed.

13. A cinrcnt-colleelor for electric railways, consisting of two ilatdisks of copper or other conducting material, perforated at theircenter, and the central disk, T2 ot' wood or other material, smaller indiameter than the disks T T', the whole journaled upon the pivot NV andforming a grooved roller of a width of groove suitable to embrace theupper and lower sides of the electric cable K, between the disks T T,and take up electric energy therefrom, substantially as described.

ISAAC NV. I-IEYSINGER.

XVitnesses:

MICHAEL B. FENNINGBR, J oHN NOLAN.

